


Lifeline

by keysoossi



Category: EXO, SM Entertainment
Genre: M/M, office!AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-12
Updated: 2017-08-17
Packaged: 2018-10-30 23:16:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 13,213
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10886946
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/keysoossi/pseuds/keysoossi
Summary: Chanyeol has graduated from the University of Seoul as Suma Cum Laude. He's very well known as the best Information Technology student in the whole university as he cannot just create the best programs, he too can design the best applications in any field remarkably. So when his dream company, Solutions M - known to provide best outputs and great deals with thousands of clients in different countries across the earth, offered him his dream role, he immediately grabbed it and signed the contract.Little did he know that someone's not going to make things easy for him and might just make him regret he entered this firm. Who is Chanyeol's ally? Who'll betray him? Who will protect him from the most wanted person?





	1. The Introductions and the Challenge

Chanyeol is nervous on his first day of work. He’s a fresh graduate and this office where he’s currently being asked to wait is where he’s going to work for the first time. Moreover, this is his dream company that offered him his dream job – figuring out the best business requirements for clients, best strategies – a business analyst. He liked to do research so much and analyze them with all the data. These thoughts just really thrill him. Seemingly, the adult life is exciting him but like every first times, he’s always nervous and didn’t know what to expect. Too immersed in his thoughts of what-ifs, his shoulders jumped from the sudden open of the private office’s door.  
“Hi, you must be Park Chanyeol. I’m the HR assigned to your team. Welcome to the company!” The woman welcomed him with a bright smile and offered her hand to shake with Chanyeol’s. The new hire immediately reached for her hand and beamed back a smile to her.

“Yes, that’s me. Nice to meet you, Ms…?” Chanyeol raised his brows asking the HR her name.

“I’m Sunny. Pleased to meet you. So, are you ready to meet your team?” She released his hand and showed the way out towards where his teammates are waiting.

“Of course, Ms. Sunny!” He answered enthusiastically and grabbed his backpack. He followed her while they walked across the hall. Not far from where they left off, Chanyeol can already feel pairs of eyes looking at him. Well, he did stand out so much from the sectioned cubicles because of his height and he was notably dashing that day aiming to receive a great first impression from his team. Before they reached his team’s area, Sunny looked back at him and said, “Oh, by the way, don’t call me Ms. Sunny. Just Sunny. People here don’t use honorifics. You might feel off at first but you’ll get used to it. I hope you can embrace this culture in no time.” Sunny smiled at him and patted his left shoulder. Chanyeol felt great when Sunny showed how friendly she actually is. He really did tense down after that pat. Now, he wished his teammates were as welcoming as Sunny.

Chanyeol didn’t want to look startled again so he focused on where he was walking with Sunny instead of being immersed in his thoughts again. His focus did him good as he noticed Sunny slowing down to greet some people and eventually stopped.

“Hello Team Daylight!” She greeted them cheerfully and all eyes were on her.

“Hey, Sunny! Finally bringing with you the good news?” A man greeted her back and briefly looked at Chanyeol before looking at Sunny.

“That’s right, Key! You’ve been excited about this, haven’t you?” Sunny released a chuckle then cleared her throat to introduce the new hire beside her.

“Everyone, meet Park Chanyeol! The genius from THE Seoul University.” Chanyeol tensed up as Sunny stressed from what university he came from. Why did she have to say that? He thought to himself.

“Good morning! I’m Park Chanyeol! Nice to meet you all.” Chanyeol greeted them with confidence, bowed in all four directions of the wide office they were in.

“Hey Channie!!!” An unfamiliar voice called from behind him. Chanyeol faced him and he did not know this guy. Regardless, Chanyeol beamed at him with all his teeth showing and greeted back, “Hey.. uh…”

“Haha! I’m Heechul! Sorry, did I startle you? Haha.” This Heechul guy laughed and Chanyeol laughed awkwardly.

“No… no.. Hi… Mr.. Hee… oh..” He remembered. No honorifics. “Heechul, pleased to meet you!” Chanyeol waved at him and he noticed how Heechul’s mouth formed an O, nodding slowly, looking impressed at how Chanyeol adapts pretty quickly with the new environment.

“He’s the newest member of Team Daylight. Chanyeol, Heechul’s the team leader here. He’ll be in charge of your knowledge transition in the next two weeks.” Sunny stopped talking like she has realized something. Shaking her head, she said, “I bet you’ll be good in just one week. You’re the genius Park Chanyeol anyway.” Sunny laughs. “Anyway, I’m leaving you to them now. You can always tell me if your teammates are being brutal to you.” She faced the team. “Everyone, please take care of Chanyeol. We do not want another genius leaving the team.” Oh shit. Sunny thought. She just can’t control her mouth sometimes. Now she’s hearing some employees murmuring, glancing at Chanyeol and her.

“Forget that I said that.” She laughed loudly, awkwardly, and left them after waving goodbye. What was that? Who left? Chanyeol thought but before he’s immersed to his thoughts again, Heechul was already beside him and grabbed his arm.

“Chanyeol, I’ll show you your work station.” Heechul said tugging Chanyeol into one of the cubicles around them. It’s just a few steps from where he was introduced.  
There were six chairs in the rectangular cubicle and one was vacant. Chanyeol assumed it’s his seat. All team members in the cubicle looked at him earnestly.

“Hi Chanyeol! We’re Team Daylight’s SEVEN. Cool isn’t it? We’re like a pop group.” The smaller guy let out a chuckle. “We’re TD7 because we’re expected to start working at 7AM.” He laughed again but no one was laughing with him, just awkward smiles. He cleared his throat before adding, “By the way, I’m Kim Junmyeon. I’m the leader of TD7. I get to facilitate our projects and team deadlines. I’m Heechul’s go-to person in TD7. I’m also in charge of ensuring the quality outputs of the team. Please to meet you!” Junmyeon offered his hand and Chanyeol didn’t hesitate to shake hands with him. Before he can even speak, the next member already started introducing himself.

“I’m Byun Baekhyun. Junmyeon’s self-declared right hand.” He laughed at his own statement. “I contribute pretty much significant stuff in this team so I guess that’s why our leader often talks to me about work stuff.” He continued and reached out his hand to Chanyeol. “Nice to meet you, Chanyeol!” Chanyeol shook his hands as well. He didn’t bother to speak anymore as he expected the rest to introduce themselves right after the other. And he was right, a taller guy than Baekhyun and Junmyeon followed.

“I’m Kim Jongin.” The stern look on Jongin’s face made Chanyeol think that’s the end of his introduction and he was right. It ended with them just shaking hands and Jongin already stepped back, placing his hands behind him and cracking his neck left and right. I think he’s the least friendly so far. Chanyeol thought.

“Hi Chanyeol. I’m Irene. Obviously, the princess of TD7.” Chanyeol noted how Irene smiled so prettily but gave off this devilish feeling at the same time. “I’m as smart as Baekhyun here but I guess our leader’s just too ashamed to talk to me.” Irene smirked at Junmyeon.

“Excuse me, Irene. That’s not the case at all. Baekhyun happened to be sitting beside me so of course I talk to him first.” Junmyeon explained with a brow raised.  
“Whatever. Since Chanyeol here will be seated beside me, I expect you to reach out to me first.” Irene extended her hand and showed the taller guy a cheeky smile. Chanyeol shook hands with her and said, “Sure!” Then Chanyeol’s eyes shifted to the last person to introduce himself.

“Uhmm.. and you are?” Chanyeol started since he doesn’t seem to have the intention to introduce himself.

“I’m Do Kyungsoo. And I’m giving you a challenge.” All eyes looked at the guy with thick eyeglasses on, hair combed back neatly showing his creased forehead.

“Ch-challenge?” That’s the first time Chanyeol stuttered that day because he did not expect this. He thought and wished everyone’s like Sunny or at least Kim Jongin’s the only person who seem disinterested about his presence.

“If you can tell me who caused Luhan to quit from this company a month ago, I can let you keep your job.” He answered head lifted up for the obvious reason that Chanyeol is taller than him. His glare intimidated Chanyeol.

“Keep my job? Do you fire people?” Chanyeol, though intimidated, was skeptic about what he just heard. Co-employees don’t just fire people is what he thought.

“Apparently, if you didn’t forget, you have six months to prove yourself before you get to be regularized. Our Kyungsoo right here makes the biggest decision of keeping a new hire or not. He’s the leader in all technical aspects when it comes to our project works so he knows when your skills are enough or not. I’m not saying you should impress him but you should at least show him your worth.” Junmyeon explained. The environment was pretty tensed and Chanyeol’s expectations of a bubbly work environment is starting to crash.

“Why the challenge though?” He pouted murmuring to himself. I can just do my job and give them what’s expected of me as a business analyst, but this?

“Don’t think that this is something petty. If you get to catch this person, you’ll be able to save this team.” Kyungsoo answered.

“Huh?” Chanyeol just got more confused.

“Someone’s trying to bring our team down. Luhan was the smartest, most productive, most valued member of TD7 and of all Team Daylight yet he quit and we all didn’t expect that. Apparently, that person who made Luhan quit is still here and might do more things to make another one from us quit. Our clients have entrusted us with their most valued projects - that means more money for them and us if we do things the best way we can. But with this person lurking around, we’re afraid everything might go straight down to the drain and all of us will be doomed.” Kim Jongin explained. Chanyeol noted how serious the matter is with how Jongin explained to him. He can see from his peripheral view one or two employees outside TD7 shaking their head.

“Of course, that’s on top of your daily tasks. Don’t be so obvious though. He might be listening now, warned, but he won’t know when you’ll catch him.” Kyungsoo smirked at Chanyeol. “Be the genius that you are. You have six months.” And just like that, Kyungsoo sat back to his seat and unlocked his laptop to start working. Irene pointed the seat between Kyungsoo and hers and Chanyeol can’t believe he’ll be sitting beside his challenger. Chanyeol looked at where the others were seated. Junmyeon’s workstation was behind Irene’s. He’s just behind Irene so why isn’t he talking to her? Chanyeol smiled at how Irene probably found Junmyeon’s logic stupid. Baekhyun is seated behind Chanyeol. Jongin was seated behind Kyungsoo. Heechul went one cubicle away from theirs. Chanyeol thought that’s probably where Team Daylight’s overall team leader should be seated, a bit more private with larger space but still among the rest of the team. He noted ten rectangular cubicles in the area (two columns, each with five cubicles), every cubicle with six people except for one where Heechul was. That one had only four people. He saw Sunny seated beside Heechul. Chanyeol calculated that there are 58 people in Team Daylight including him and one of them is his key to keeping his dream job.


	2. Urgency

It's Chanyeol's second day at work and before he entered their office, he shook his hands to relieve the tension that was built in him on his way to work. He knew why he's so nervous. Yesterday, he was told to find the culprit for Luhan's disappearance from the company. Also, yesterday, no one was friendly towards him except the team leader - Heechul. But since Heechul's in charge of yesterday's orientation session for him, there wasn't anything special at all. Chanyeol kind off expected Junmyeon to ask him out for lunch with the team but he was so busy he did not even have lunch. He was waiting for Baekhyun or Irene to even have coffee with him but they all bought theirs on their own. He did not expect anything from Jongin at all. He was even ignored when he greeted his senior along the hallway. As for Kyungsoo, he did not know what to expect. So on his second day, he planned to reach out to them first. He can try to initiate interactions between them. That's why he's nervous. What if they turn him down? What if they'll think he's being too overfamiliar too soon. But he thought he had to do this so he shrugged all the negative thoughts away and went inside.

TD7 were always the earliest to come to office. Most of the employees in Team Daylight come at 9AM followed by 1PM and the graveyard shifts at 7PM and 9PM. When he was approaching TD7's cubicle, Heechul was already there as if waiting for someone. When Heechul saw him from afar, he waved at him and signalled to come faster so Chanyeol hurried.

"Good morning, Heechul!" Chanyeol greeted as he stopped at their cubicle's entrance. "Hi guys!" He greeted the others, too. Junmyeon and Baekhyun turned their chairs around and nodded at Chanyeol. Irene followed, then Jongin, then Kyungsoo. Chanyeol beamed at them and went to his chair. They were sitting down, gathered in the middle of the cubicle while Heechul was standing up. It was time for the daily status report of the team, a day starter they've always been doing to know each member's pending tasks and plans for the day. 

"Junmyeon, can you go first?" Heechul suggested.

"Sure!" They weren't really required to stand up so Junmyeon talked while seated. "Yesterday, I handed some documents to Chanyeol for him to read. Apparently, he did not need me to discuss further so I just worked on this new project from StarTech and will just continue working on that today."

"Is he really that smart?" Irene scoffed.

"Oh... It was actually..." Chanyeol tried to explain that he was just hesitant to approach Junmyeon because he looked so busy but he was cut-off when Jongin commented, "Let's make this meeting quick. No more sidetracks." Chanyeol's jaw dropped at bit.  _Is he in a bad mood everyday?_  He thought.

"You're too stiff, Jongin." Irene disappointedly remarked. "Let me continue then. I reviewed Baekhyun's and Junmyeon's outputs from the day before yesterday. I'll be sending out review points today."

"Cool!" Baekhyun said. "Yesterday, I've started on a new project from Ynology Company. My goodness, they're vague as fuck! I think I'll spend the rest of the week digging through their brains." 

"We've always handed you stuff from YC. You're doing great with them!" Heechul praised him. Baekhyun can't help but giggle at the compliment.

"Let me continue." Kyungsoo said. "I've been working across development and testing teams for this existing project from Dealers. They've handed me several change requests and several teams were contacting me for consultations. So I asked Jongin to help me out on some of them."

"Right, so that's what I've been doing yesterday. Both of us will probably work on this for the rest of the week, too." Jongin narrated.

"Are you still on track with your timeline?" Heechul asked, with arms crossed over his chest.

"Yes!" All five answered.

"And how's our new hire doing?" Heechul looked at Chanyeol. Chanyeol's eyes involuntarily opened wider as all eyes were on him.

"Oh." He cleared his throat. "Since I've finished reading and grasping all the documents Junmyeon gave yesterday and I think I understand the processes Heechul taught me, too, so... I'm planning to shadow over someone, see how you guys work on your projects." He answered, he didn't notice he was fidgeting.

"Are you okay?" Irene asked.

"Yup." He quickly responded. Irene shrugged.

"Then yo-" Junmyeon spoke but Kyungsoo quickly interrupted. "You can shadow over me. Dealers' projects are pretty much good training for smart people like you."

"Are you saying StarTech's too easy?" Junmyeon whined and pouted.

"Yeah." And even with Kyungsoo's serious face, the members laughed, even Jongin smiled at him. Chanyeol thought these guys could relax, too, and he saw Jongin genuinly smile today. Suddenly, his plan to befriend them seem to be feasible.

\---

It's lunch break and Chanyeol was ready to carry out his plan. His shadowing session with Kyungsoo was so quiet. They only had conversations when Chanyeol had questions. It's always one way. As soon as the clock showed 12NN, he cleared his throat and said, "Uhh... Kyungsoo, d-do you have plans for lunch today?"

Kyungsoo stopped from typing something and looked at Chanyeol. He was contemplating, Chanyeol knew and he hoped he'll give a positive response. Kyungsoo eventually answered, "None. Do you wanna have lunch with me?" He asked. Chanyeol didn't notice but he was happy with this response. But he tried to not sound too excited and responded, "Why not? Shall we?" Both of them stood up. Chanyeol reached for his bag to get his wallet while Kyungsoo took his wallet, too, and removed his eyeglasses. They both faced each other at the same time and Chanyeol was surprised at how Kyungsoo looked different without that thick eyeglasses over his eyes. Chanyeol wanted to ask if he has considered wearing contact lenses but decided to swallow it in. _Maybe next time, I'll ask him_ he thought.

Just before Kyungsoo and Chanyeol made their way out of the cubicle, Jongin asked where they're heading and Kyungsoo merely responded, "I'm having lunch with the new hire." Kyungsoo did not even ask Jongin to come with them, Chanyeol notes. He overthinks but was distracted at how team members outside TD7 looked at them and murmured.

"Don't mind them." Kyungsoo looked straight and went straight out the office. Chanyeol followed him. 

\---

The elevator ride down to the first floor was quiet and awkward. Chanyeol was intending to start a conversation but stops everytime his nervousness gets ahead of him. Chanyeol wonders why he's totally the opposite of what he was during college - loved by everyone, approached by everyone, friends with everyone. But not in this new phase of his life. Being the positive person that he is, he shrugged all negative thoughts away just in time when the elevator opened and Kyungsoo went straight out.

While walking, Chanyeol notes his steps were double of Kyungsoo's. He was like a toddler beside him and thought it's really cute. He wondered how this cute creature ended up being so quiet, it's such a waste. They just continued walking for five minutes and when Kyungsoo stopped at fastfood chain, Chanyeol didn't want to believe that they're eating there. He's totally fine with fastfood, but Do Kyungsoo? This fine man?

Kyungsoo went straight to the line when finally Chanyeol managed to talk to him, "Are we eating here?"

"Don't you eat fastfood?" Kyungsoo asked without looking at him.

"I do of course. I'm not picky." Chanyeol pouted.

"Then why are you asking me? Am I not allowed to eat fastfood?" Still, Kyungsoo did not look at him. Chanyeol notes Kyungsoo was squinting.

"Sorry." Chanyeol walked away from Kyungsoo and he noticed it. He went near the counter and took something then he went back. "Here." Chanyeol offered the menu to Kyungsoo. "Oh..." was all Kyungsoo said to Chanyeol. "You're welcome." Chanyeol said.  _Why did he remove his eyeglasses when he cannot even read the menu this near to the counter?_  Chanyeol counts the people ahead of them and there were only three. It only took them 6 minutes to fall in line and they were finally settled on one of the tables inside the establishment.

Both had their first two bites of the quarter-pounder burgers they ordered when Kyungsoo started the conversation first. Chanyeol almost choked when Kyungsoo threw the first question at him like a grenade.

"Have you figured out how to catch the culprit?" Kyungsoo sips from his soda. Chanyeol hurriedly chewed his food and swallowed before answering.

"Honestly? No..." Chanyeol was staring down at Kyungsoo waiting for his reaction. The smaller guy chewed his food, swallowed it before responding.

"When are you planning to think about it?"

"I have six months to do it so I'm taking my time."

"You sound confident."

"No. I'm not confident. I'm just ... warming up with you guys for now. I mean I need to know you, who are my teammates in the office, first before I start to think about someone who's left, right?"

Kyungsoo was somewhat annoyed, Chanyeol notes. He wanted to take back what he said but he cannot think of a better answer than the truth. He noticed Kyungsoo taking a deep breath and sighed.

"Don't take too long. Someone's life is on the line here." Kyungsoo crumpled the foil that previously wrapped the burger he was eating. He stood up and went to the wash area to clean his hands. He went back to their table to get his wallet and spoke, "I'll go ahead." Kyungsoo glanced at his watch. "You have 20 minutes left to finish your lunch. Be back in the office at 1PM."

Chanyeol couldn't stop Kyungsoo from leaving. He was frozen.  _Who's life was he talking about? Mine? His? ... Luhan's?_  Chanyeol shoved in the rest of the burger, chewed a bit, sipped his drink and wiped his hands with tissue.  _What have I gotten myself into, seriously._ And he went out of the fastfood chain to chase his senior.


	3. Glass Walls

"Hey!" A voice called out and Chanyeol didn't know if he should react but since there was no name mentioned, he decided to just keep on fixing his things inside his bag and prepare to leave the office. It's 4:05PM and TD7 members have already left the office except for one. 

"Park Chanyeol." The same voice finally called his name to which he reacted and faced him.

"Yes, Jongin?" Chanyeol faced his teammate who was also about to leave the office.

"Uh... Let's head out first." Jongin signalled and both of them walked out of the office. They were in the elevator lobby when Jongin continued where they left off. "You had lunch with Kyungsoo earlier, right?" He asked to which Chanyeol nodded as a response. "Did he tell you anything?"

"About what?"

"I said anything."

"Tss... Right, why am I even asking you to specify a scenario when we even talked about one thing." Chanyeol looked irked when he remembered how Kyungsoo left him at lunch that day.

"What is it?"... "And why are you talking like this, you were all fidgety this morning." Jongin just realized the sudden change in Chanyeol's tone.

"We talked about this Luhan guy... and I just found out I'm older than you and Kyungsoo..." The taller guy answered.

"Oh, plot twist." A very sarcastic tone came out of Jongin that made Chanyeol snort at the remark.

"Anyway, that's it? You were just curious about our topic over lunch?" Chanyeol uncrossed his arms and held the straps of his backpack worn on his shoulders. The elevator opens and both of them went inside it.

"Yeah. That's it." Poker-faced Jongin answered. Chanyeol intended to ask why to keep the conversation going but it seems like a meaningless one. Jongin just wanted to know what they talked about. It's not like Jongin's monitoring Kyungsoo or something, right? Chanyeol's overthinking again and it kept him occupied until the elevator reached the ground floor. Jongin walked past him, ahead of him and eventually left him.  _What's wrong with people? They just leave me like this, no goodbyes?_  If Chanyeol can bitch for a day, he would have done that that day but he still had more patience in his bucket. He let out a sigh as he went out of the building and saw Jongin's back getting farther.

\---

The rest of the week went on and that was the most monotonous week in Chanyeol's life. He goes to work, learns processes and shadows his teammates, eats lunch alone after that day Kyungsoo left him, and goes home. It was unbelievable and it's only been a week but he's exhausted. Partly because he was trying to win the hearts of his teammates, partly because he wants Kyungsoo to talk to him but he wouldn't unless Chanyeol tells him he's working on the challenge. Chanyeol was just so frustrated because he can't just say he is working on it when he's not. He really just needs time but he also needs Kyungsoo to train him. So torn and exhausted, he decided to send a message to his best friend, Oh Sehun. 

Yeol:  _"Sehunniieeee...Let's drink!"_ It didn't take long before Chanyeol received a reply.

Hunnie: _All of a sudden?_

Yeol: _It's Friday! Come on!_

Hunnie: _No, we don't go drinking because it's Friday. What's the problem?_

Yeol: _Ah.. You know me so well... I'll tell you when we meet._

Hunnie: _Are you sure it's fine to go out this late?_

Yeol: _It's just 9PM. I can't sleep and I need to talk to you. Pleeeaaase?_

Hunnie: _Okay. There's the very nice bar three streets away from the Uni. It's so chill! Meet you there in 30min.?_

Yeol: _Cool! I'll get ready._

Chanyeol quickly prepped and then he borrowed his Dad's car and went off to their meeting place.

\---

Chanyeol was parking his car when he noticed just how high-class the cars were in that parking lot.  _Woah, Hunnie chose a very expensive place to chill._  He thought. He got off and a tall man was approaching him. He immediately noticed him as he was wearing his usual white semi-loose v-necked shirt and black ripped pants, his baseball cap on his head and his pitch black sneakers.

"Hunnie!!!" Chanyeol was indeed glad to see his bestfriend after several weeks. "I missed you, man!" They hugged for a few seconds and then they let go at the same time.   
"Yeol! Woah! How's adult life so far?" Sehun laughed, mocking his bestfriend. 

"Ah..." Chanyeol sighed. "That's what I'm going to talk to you about." he brushed his hair with his hand and Sehun could tell Chanyeol's exhausted. "By the way, you didn't tell me this place is elite. I could have worn better clothes."

"Ah, I didn't tell you so we both look the same today. I'm not really interested in looking elite." Both laughed and walked all the way to the bar.

\---

It wasn't the type of bar that's dark. It's dim but not dark people can still read a book inside if they want to. There was no loud music. It was a perfect place to have a few drinks and chill. Unlike the bar next to it where there's EDM filling the whole building, people dancing and drinking and getting wasted. Chanyeol was watching the other building through its glass walls.  _I bet those people on the other side would say our side's a bit boring._  He thought when he saw people in the other bar glancing at the building where they were through its glass walls, too. His thoughts were interrupted when Sehun sat beside him and placed a glass of vodka.

"I heard the owners of these two bars are siblings." Sehun started. Chanyeol ears perked up to what seems to be an interesting trivia. "They had different taste of everything, they only agreed on one thing in their entire life. And that's to have a bar as a business. But turns out, they still can't agree on the concept.The other wanted loud EDM while the other wants something mellow. Being the rich people that they are, they decided to just have their own bars."

"Why the glass walls though?" Chanyeol asked while gently stroking his glass up and down.

"They fought on who's bar will be better. The glass doors will allow them to see realtime reactions from the other bar's customers. Also, the owner of that bar," Sehun points at the bar opposite them, "is such a tease he wanted his customers to tease chill people like us, too." Chanyeol snorted at Sehun's story. "As if I'd want to be all wasted inside that bar. I like peace. Thanks." Sehun drank from his glass after finishing off his story. They haven't really been to loud bars before. It's just not their thing. Especially after that first time they went with a group because of peer pressure during freshman years and both of them vomitted and got wasted. Definitely, never again.

"I hope my team were made of glass walls, too." Chanyeol sighed and then drank from his glass.

"Oh...Are they not talking to you?" Sehun shifted so he can properly face Chanyeol who was still looking at the other building.

"We only talk when I have questions. We only talk because they're training me. Nothing beyond that." Chanyeol answered and Sehun can definitely see the disappointment in Chanyeol's face. "You know how excited I am for this job, right? Turns out I just can't have everything in one go." He drank again.

"It's only been a week, Yeol. They're probably just warming up to you, too." Sehun tried to comfort him by patting his shoulders.

"Naaah.. They're the same serious people everyday. There's no progress at all."

"You're just used to people warming up to you right away, Yeollieeee... Cheer up! You're on another phase now. I guess this is something you need to learn." Sehun drinks. Chanyeol looked at Sehun and smiled.

"I'm so lucky to have you."

"Don't be cheesy." Sehun lifted his glass. "Cheers to my Yeollie's adult life!" Chanyeol lifted his glass and made a toast with his best friend. "Bottoms up!" They said at the same time and drank the vodka in one go. Chanyeol was slowly drinking his with his eyes open when he saw something from the other building that got his attention. For some reason, the other building turned on ample amount of light to make everyone visible from the outside. And from Chanyeol and Sehun were, he can see someone he's familiar with. He placed his glass down and Sehun noticed it wasn't empty yet. 

"Hey, bottoms up!" 

"Wait..." Chanyeol squinted his eyes and focused on the person and when he realized who it was, his mouth formed an O in amusement.  _He goes to that kind of place? Who is he with? They look like really close buddies._  He thought. A few seconds just passed and he covered his mouth with his two hands in astonishment.

"Hey! What is it?" Sehun tried to follow Chanyeol's gaze but cannot find the reason of his surpised look.

_Shit. Is he gay?_  Chanyeol's heart raced when he saw his teammate, his seatmate, his mentor Do Kyungsoo deeply kissing another man.


	4. False Hope

Chanyeol almost fell from his seat when he saw a glare directed at him from the other building. And he felt like he had to run as fast as he could when Kyungsoo, after glaring at him, tapped the man and motioned for him to wait, and started to walk out of the loud bar. Chanyeol could only follow him with his eyes and he did not want to believe that Kyungsoo is coming to their place.

“Hunnie, I think we should go.” Chanyeol grabbed Sehun’s wrist and pulled him out of his chair.

“What’s wrong, Yeol? Let’s stay a bit more…” Sehun whined and was pulling back Chanyeol to his seat. Both were like playing tug of war and no one was winning.

“Come on Hunniiieee!!!” Chanyeol pulled Sehun a lot stronger but Sehun gave in already that made Chanyeol almost fall on his bum. Almost, because he did not fall on the floor, a man caught him from behind. Chanyeol’s back was on this man’s chest and he’s gripping Chanyeol’s arms.

“Ah! Sorry! Sorry!” Sehun said first and pulled Chanyeol back. Horror came crashing on Chanyeol when he realized who he just fell on.

“Kyungsoo!”

“Chanyeol…”Kyungsoo smirks. “Why are you looking at me like that? It’s like you’ve seen a ghost.” He smiled wryly. He walked slowly towards Chanyeol but Chanyeol was stepping back, too, so the distance between them didn’t get any closer. Until Chanyeol reached the glass wall of the building and he cannot move back anymore. Kyungsoo advanced to him and closed their gap to less than a foot.

“What’s wrong, Park Chanyeol?” Kyungsoo almost whispered with a husky voice. Chanyeol couldn’t especially believe that Kyungsoo was so close to him at that moment. He also couldn’t believe that his mentor who looked like a very neat, serious and introvert man in the office, was wearing a fitted leather pants and shoes, loose black long-sleeved blouse that’s exposing his neck with that pretty choker around it. His hair was messy but presentable and his lips were pink and hydrated. He’s sexy and totally hot and Chanyeol could feel his face getting hotter at the view.

“Do you want me to do to you what you just saw? Hm?” Kyungsoo gently placed his hand on Chanyeol’s neck and played his fingers on the taller’s nape. Chanyeol couldn’t move or did he even want to in the first place? He’s frozen and he couldn’t think properly. “You smell like vodka.” Kyungsoo remarked as his nose teasingly roams so close on Chanyeol’s lips. “I think I’d like to have vodka tonight.” Kyungsoo continued and stared deeply into Chanyeol’s eyes which were staring back at him. Chanyeol’s lips involuntarily opened while Kyungsoo’s face was getting nearer. He let out a soft moan and closed his eyes when he felt Kyungsoo palm that bulge in his pants he didn’t know was already there. His mouth opened a bit more and he was still drunk in the sensation when Kyungsoo tugged his head towards him so their lips can crash and they can kiss.

But… Chanyeol woke up from the pain of crashing his head on his bedside table instead. He massaged his temples and he didn’t know if it’s the pain that’s causing his temper or the fact that the sweet sensation was just a dream and didn’t even last long, didn’t even reach to the kiss.

“Fuck this.” Chanyeol hissed and sat against the head board of his bed. He moved his hand to feel his pants if the bulge is there and it is. He sighed deeply and calmed down as he didn’t want to jerk off very early in the morning especially not because of his mentor. So he distracted himself by checking his phone, his last message to Sehun that stated his apology for cutting their night short and Sehun’s “You’ll have to make up for this next time, Yeol. Good night.”

Chanyeol started to recall if seeing Kyungsoo kissing a man last night was part of his dream or if it was real. He wasn’t really sure. He sighed heavily before he decided to stop thinking about last night. After he has calmed down, he had this eureka moment and went off his bed. He took his laptop and went back to his bed, turned it on and immediately checked the official website of Solutions M.

Chanyeol browsed through the homepage. He saw the basics like what Solution M is, how much employees it has so far and its growth in the IT world, and of course its achievements and pride. A group photo especially caught his attention. Solutions M won a prestigious award and a group of ten people were in the photo. He immediately recognized a few of them were TD7 and Heechul. However, there was one person in the photo among TD7 he didn’t know. He was standing between Jongin and Kyungsoo. He’s taller than Kyungsoo but a bit shorter than Jongin. He was wearing this big smile on his face and he’s holding the trophy. In the photo, this man and Heechul were the happiest. The rest of TD7 had their simplest smiles on. He clicked the link to the article about the photo and he realized the article was published two months before he joined the company. And as he read the article, he realized he’s correct when he guessed that the guy showing the trophy off so proudly was no other than Luhan.

“They said Luhan quit the company a month ago, so... A month after they got this award, he resigned.” He mumbled to himself. “Maybe this made the culprit jealous of Luhan and did tricks to kick him out.” Chanyeol nodded to himself and started to think all sorts of scenarios. _I don’t really plan on talking to anybody in the office anymore but I guess I have to do it so I can keep this job._

\---

Chanyeol was excited to go to work – his 6th day in the office. Unlike some people, Chanyeol didn’t hate Mondays. In fact, Mondays give him a sense of hope and new chances. Indeed, Chanyeol wanted to start all over again and spark up his fighting spirit. He wanted that the next time he meets Sehun, he’ll be able to share fun stories instead of upsetting ones. So that day, he wore a pastel pink sweatshirt, white pants and shoes. His curly hair showed his bubbliness. And his perfume was a head-turner. Just like last week, he was the last to arrive in the office among TD7. And even though he could have arrived earlier than them, he intended not to because he wanted to buy each of them coffee for today. As soon as Chanyeol arrived in their cube, he distributed the coffee to them.

“Good morning guys! Here, have some coffee.” He gave the first cup to Heechul, then to Junmyeon, to Baekhyun, to Jongin, to Irene and to Kyungsoo. Kyungsoo didn’t want to receive the cup at first but Chanyeol insisted.

“What’s up, Channie? You even look dashing today.” Heechul complimented him before taking a sip of his coffee.

“It’s Monday!” Chanyeol answered, all of his teeth showed when he smiled.

“Are you going to treat us again next week then?” Baekhyun commented.

“Why not!” He answered and sat down on his chair.

“Rich kid.” Jongin scoffed. Chanyeol didn’t let himself get offended so he shrugged Jongin’s comment away and prepared himself for the daily meeting.

\---

After the meeting, all of them went back to their workstations. While Chanyeol was opening his laptop, he cleared his throat and faced Kyungsoo. He hesitated at first because Kyungsoo’s wearing all black today, not the same with his outfit in Chanyeol’s dream, but he can’t help but remember it and he also can’t help but gulp at the sight of Kyungsoo’s lips sipping coffee. He might have stared for too long at Kyungsoo because Kyungsoo side-eyed him and stopped sipping his coffee.

“Problem?” Kyungsoo asked. He put down the cup beside his laptop and faced Chanyeol.

“Uh… oh…. Nothing… I... uhmmm…” Chanyeol couldn’t remember what he was supposed to tell Kyungsoo. He looked at his things to make him remember and when he looked at his laptop, he found his excuse to talk to Kyungsoo. “Ah! Right... uuhh...” He faced the laptop to Kyungsoo to show him a photo.

“What about that?” Kyungsoo asked

“This person in between you and Jongin, he’s Luhan right?” Chanyeol pointed at the person on the photo.

“Yeah. That’s him. So you’ve finally started with the mission.” Kyungsoo’s lips were about to form a smirk but Chanyeol’s convinced that Kyungsoo’s just stopping himself from smiling. _Cute._ He thought.

“Yeah.” Chanyeol wanted to giggle but he stopped himself before Kyungsoo starts to get the wrong idea.

“I’m glad.” Kyungsoo faced back to his laptop and Chanyeol didn’t miss that small smile he finally let go. All of sudden, it’s like Chanyeol has seen an angel on earth and he’s thankful that Kyungsoo doesn’t catch him again for staring a bit longer. It seems like he just made him happy. At that moment, he decided to do his best to find the culprit as fast as he can. Chanyeol felt an unexplainable happiness however he then felt an unexplainable jealousy when he realized it’s not because of him that Kyungsoo’s smiling, it’s because of Luhan and the idea that he’ll finally get the justice he deserves. Chanyeol faced back to his laptop and started to read e-mails and pick-up tasks. But no matter how busy on work stuff he looked the entire day, he was just actually fighting the distraction called Do Kyungsoo.


	5. The First Suspect

A month has passed and Chanyeol still doesn’t have a lead as to who made Luhan quit the company. And even after a month, Chanyeol wasn’t able to make friends with TD7 except with Irene. Irene is a smart sweet girl who Chanyeol thought had a secret crush on Junmyeon. And for that, Chanyeol found Irene’s taste weird. Junmyeon isn’t really funny when he makes jokes, he laughs at himself. Even Irene doesn’t but she finds him amusing. Junmyeon isn’t really cool and his clothes are very ordinary. He brings his homemade food that sometimes stink and he insists it’s normal. He’s clumsy. He sucks at company parties. He can’t swim. He can’t even ride a bike on his own. All of these, Chanyeol knew because Irene told him. But everytime Irene told him stories about what Junmyeon’s bad at, she always ends them with, “But he really is a very good leader. I would have quit the team if he’s not the one leading us.” One day, Chanyeol found the courage to ask Irene a question he’s been itching to ask before.

Chanyeol invited Irene over an after-work food trip and they ended up in a very cute pink-themed café, just a walking distance from their company. Irene went with Chanyeol without further whys because they’ve pretty much been close lately.

“You know, I didn’t really like pink before until I saw Junmyeon wear a pink cap during our company summer outing two years ago.” Irene started once they’ve settled on a table for two by the window of the café.

“You’ve liked him for two years?” Chanyeol was pretty amazed at the new information.

“We both entered the company four years ago. We were assigned in TD7 ever since but I only liked him a two years after we were hired.”

“Was that when he became your leader?”

“Yeah. He did really well and the past leader of TD7 got promoted and that’s Heechul.”

“Ohhh…”

“It was a good thing he became the leader at that time. Back then, Jongin, Baekhyun and Kyungsoo weren’t part of the team yet. We struggled with the past members but Junmyeon really … really did his best to make us a stable team. Our achievements were his pride and the Management really recognized us…and recognized him so much. But our past team members, in the long run, wanted their own fame. Some quit the team, some even quit the company. Believe it or not, all of those happened in a year, Junmyeon’s first year as a leader.” Irene drinks her Iced Matcha Latte before continuing her story. “Luhan came like a blessing to us. Even with Junmyeon’s leadership, he knew he wouldn’t be able to handle people who didn’t want to be handled by him. Jealous mother fuckers.”

Chanyeol noticed Irene gritting her teeth like the anger is still fresh. “You said Luhan’s a blessing. Seems like he did spectacular job for the company. Why did he quit?”

“When Luhan came to the company, TD7 only had Junmyeon and me. We had help from other teams sometimes. Since there were only the two of us, no work came in. Ahhh...” Irene sighed. “I can remember Heechul’s worn out face every day dealing with clients. So when Luhan applied for SM, and Heechul knew Luhan has an excellent background in Seoul University, they hired him right away and they put him in TD7. Luhan was very bubbly and he helped us rise again. Junmyeon and Luhan got very close and all they did were fantastic jobs. Midway our fourth year, Jongin, Baekhyun and Kyungsoo were hired because he needed more people to handle more clients. It was then when I felt again how teamwork works so much. Junmyeon’s leadership was even better with these people. It’s like we’re all matched and destined to be in one team.”

“Right… So basically this TD7 now has been together for about seven months.”

“Yes, seven magical months. You heard in the news right? We were really awesome.”

“And Luhan left a month before I was hired, that’s two months ago already.”

“Yeah… it almost ended TD7.”

“Why?”

“Luhan handled one of the biggest clients of SM. Even only after a year of working in SM, he got so much trust from them and our team. So when he left, we were rattled to still meet the client’s expectation like we used to with Luhan. I saw how pressured Junmyeon was, even our genius Do Kyungsoo felt dumb, even Jongin’s calmness was forgotten, even Baekhyun’s positivity was tested. In just a month, TD7 kinda… we…” There were tears threatening to fall from her eyes. “We broke down and even if it’s not obvious, I’m sad that we kinda grew apart after Luhan left. All we’re thinking now is to get hold of the clients. We…” Irene’s voice was shaking. “… do not eat out anymore like we used, too. We only talk during meetings. Junmyeon rarely makes jokes now and I miss them even if they’re not funny.” Finally, a tear flowed down her cheek. “Everything happened to me in just four years, Chanyeol. I struggled to climb up for two years but I got contented after being in TD7 … but then _it_ happened. I thought I’m gonna have the best adult years of my life.” Irene felt more words were about to come out of her mouth but she drank them away with her drink. She bit her lip and looked at Chanyeol.

“You may be wondering now, if Junmyeon was a good leader, why did Luhan still quit from us.” Irene stared at Chanyeol as if reading his mind. Indeed, that was what Chanyeol’s meaning to ask from the start and his ears perked up when Irene talked.

“We received this prestigious award three months ago.” Irene started and Chanyeol recalled that photo he saw on SM’s website. “We had a party with TD7 after that. We were at a karaoke and we got drunk. You know when someone’s drunk, truth just comes out.” Irene paused as if recalling that night. “We were surprised when Junmyeon was suddenly mocking Luhan’s achievements and efforts for the team. I was sober that night and I think Luhan was sober, too.”  


“What did Junmyeon say?”

“That why did Luhan have to do all the work when there’s him. That Luhan got too confident and forgot that we have a leader to rely on. That Luhan has so much knowledge in his mind, there was no space for Junmyeon’s advice. Even Heechul once forgot Junmyeon’s the leader and not Luhan. No… Maybe not just once but several times Heechul would go straight to Luhan for team updates. I thought Junmyeon’s fine with it but that night I realized he was just swallowing everything.”

“And Luhan heard all of those and never forgot about them?” Chanyeol asked.

“Yeah. The next day he was awkward with Junmyeon while Junmyeon had no idea why. I can feel at that time that Luhan hesitated to answer Heechul’s questions about the team update because Junmyeon was watching and he remembered his sentiments the night before. Sometimes, Luhan would redirect Heechul to Junmyeon because he said he’s busy and Junmyeon would happily accommodate Heechul.”

“Did the others notice?” Chanyeol asked again.

Irene paused before answering. “I don’t think they noticed.”

“What happened after?”

“I heard gossips that Junmyeon and Luhan had a loud fight in one of the streets in the area. Rumors said Luhan cried and even knelt down before Junmyeon.”

“You said they were close.” Chanyeol’s brows furrowed.

“Yes… Yes they were.” Irene answered but she looked away from Chanyeol. “Too close to be just…f-friends.”

Chanyeol was totally shocked but he choked his surprise and made mental notes of his theories and just directly asked Irene, “Do you think Junmyeon made Luhan quit?”

A tear fell from Irene’s eyes then she said, “Y-yes.”


	6. Surprise

Every time Chanyeol walks out of their cubicle to have lunch in the cafeteria, he would always tap Irene and invite her to join him but she would always kindly reject his offer. This day isn't any different.

"Come on, my Mom cooked her specialty for me today." Chanyeol said showing Irene his lunch box.

"Wow, I would love to Chanyeol, but I need to finish something urgent." Irene looked up at the tall man and explained.

"You've been working with urgent projects..." Chanyeol sighed. "What time will you be eating then?" He smiled like he thought of a great idea.

"Don't even think of waiting for me. Go have your lunch, Chanyeol." Irene smiled kindly and Chanyeol can see how tired Irene is.

"It must be great to be a genius, being able to finish tasks ahead of time and being able to eat lunch on time." Chanyeol recognized Jongin's murmurs from the other end of the cube. Jongin looked at Chanyeol and Chanyeol looked at him at the same time and he can tell that Jongin is not pleased with Chanyeol having lunch ahead of them.

"My goodness, Jongin, just spare Chanyeol will you?" Baekhyun said facing his laptop but Chanyeol could tell he looked annoyed.

"I was just saying that he's - " Jonginshifted his seat to face the person beside him and answered him back but Kyungsoo interrupted.

"Stop that." Kyungsoo stood up. "Chanyeol, let's go have lunch." He took his wallet from his bag and walked ahead of Chanyeol. Everyone was surprised with what just happened - Kyungsoo saved someone from Jongin's antics and he's Chanyeol.

\---

Kyungsoo and Chanyeol were quiet while eating. They've been there for 15 minutes munching their food but it was only Chanyeol who was making brief glances at the smaller guy. When he noticed that Kyungsoo is almost done and was just drinking his water, Chanyeol hurriedly ate the last spoon of his food. Just when he was drinking his water, Kyungsoo stood up and was ready to leave when Chanyeol stopped him.

He spoke still with some food in his mouth, "Wait for me, Kyungsoo!"

Kyungsoo stopped and looked back, "You still had food in your mouth but you drank water and you talked just now. Disgusting." Kyungsoo was indeed disgusted and he wanted to leave and ignore him but he waited anyway. He watched Chanyeol taking his time to chew his food and gulp down his drink but the other didn't notice. When Chanyeol was already wiping his mouth with tissue, he looked at Kyungsoo and he was startled that the other man was staring at him.

"Am I still disgusting?" Chanyeol asked confused, slowly rising from his seat.

"No. Let's go." Kyungsoo looked away when he realized Chanyeol caught him staring.

\---

Chanyeol and Kyungsoo were walking down the hallway but they were not heading to their office. They went inside the elevator and went down.

"Where are we going?" Chanyeol asked. Even when he got longer legs, he tried not to make bigger steps than Kyungsoo was making so the smaller guy would lead him. "Shouldn't we head back to the office, our break time's almost over."

They entered an alley that lead them to a smoking area. It was surrounded with green plants and there were bins for cigarette butts. Chanyeol saw two people were already there smoking.

"Why are we here?" But just when he asked, Kyungsoo took out a lighter from his pocket and lit one cigarette. Chanyeol didn't know Kyungsoo smokes so he was surprised by what he saw.

"Do you want one?" Kyungsoo offered Chanyeol his small box of cigarettes.

"No, I don't smoke." Chanyeol kindly rejected him and coughed a bit as he involuntarily inhaled cigarette smoke. 

"Oh... I thought you might want to try but I guess you do not like it." Kyungsoo was referring to Chanyeol's coughing and Chanyeol thought he offended his teammate. "You can go now if you want."

"No, I'll stay." Chanyeol immediately answered. He wasn't sure but he thinks he saw Kyungsoo smile a bit. He shrugged his assumptions and just stood beside him.

"How is it going?" Kyungsoo asked.

"What?" Chanyeol stopped spacing out and gave Kyungsoo a confused look.

"Luhan's case." 

"Oh..." Chanyeol was thinking whether he should tell Kyungsoo about Suho already or keep it to himself for now. After a few seconds of thinking, he heard Kyungsoo said, "No progress, huh?"

"Oh.. it's not like that. I did make a few progress." Chanyeol faced him, waved his two hands emphasizing his "No".

"Then tell me." Kyungsoo exhaled the smoke.

"I'll keep it to myself for now."

"You already have a suspect but he's one of TD7 so you opt not to tell me so I won't mess up my team's relationship with each other?" Kyungsoo predicted what Chanyeol had to say. The taller guy just bowed his head as he stood by his decision. "Alright then, if that's what you want." Kyungsoo continued.

"Why do you want to catch the culprit so badly?" Chanyeol asked. Kyungsoo stopped smoking and Chanyeol noticed how he gulped.

"I already told you why." He answered.

"Because you think he's going to do same thing again to another employee?" 

"Yeah." Kyungsoo was about to put back the cigarette between his lips but Chanyeol said something that made him stop.

"So you do care for other people." There was silence. "Why don't you just loosen up? You seem like a very nice friendly person."

"Psshh.." Kyungsoo briefly laughed. "You said the same thing Luhan told me. But the difference was he told me that a week after I got into the team. It took you more than a month."

"Does it matter?

"That's how he genuinely wanted to make friends with everyone."

"I wanted to be friends with you, too, but you guys are just so...." Chanyeol found it hard to say the word to describe TD7.

"Nah.. Don't mind what I said."

"So you WERE close with Luhan." Chanyeol emhpasized and looked away. Seems like he can't look at Kyungsoo when he felt a little jealousy all of a sudden.

"He's my boyfriend." Kyungsoo calmly exhaled the smoke and smirked but Chanyeol almost broke his neck for abruptly facing Kyungsoo. He's surprised, Kyungsoo thought. "You look startled. Do you hate people like us?"

"No! No! No!" This time, Chanyeol waved his hands more and said no louder before Kyungsoo gets the wrong idea. The other men smoking in the area looked at them.

"Nobody knows in the office that we're going out." Kyungsoo continued with his trivia. "Or... They knew but just didn't confront us about it."

"So it was a pretty short relationship then?"

"Was?" Kyungsoo

"Uhhh..." Chanyeol wasn't sure if he was ready to hear from Kyungsoo something he just realized.

"We're still together." Silence. "Are you judging me right now?" Kyungsoo threw the cigarette butt into the bin. "One, I smoke. Two, I like men. Deal with it." Kyungsoo taps Chanyeol's arm and walked ahead first. "It's time to go back to work, Mister!" Kyungsoo called out to him. And Chanyeol snapped back to reality and walked behind Kyungsoo in silence.


	7. In Denial

Chanyeol and Kyungsoo were back on their seats but Chanyeol definitely wasn't prepared to go back to work. A few weeks ago he saw Kyungsoo kissing another man inside a club and today Kyungsoo just confirmed that he's indeed gay. While everyone's busy doing their job, Chanyeol quietly took a small notebook and wrote "Kyungsoo x Luhan" on a new page and took a peek at the previous page. It was filled with random information he got from Irene the other day and he frowned at one line where it says "Luhan x Junmyeon ???"

_If Luhan and Kyungsoo were together, then did Luhan cheat on him and had a secret relationship with the leader?_ Chanyeol was deep in his thoughts that he didn't notice someone was shaking his chair from the back.

"Hey! Chanyeooooool" Baekhyun called. It was only when Baekhyun tapped Chanyeol's shoulder that he noticed.

"Oh! Baekhyun, I'm sorry I was ..."

"Oh don't explain. Just help me with this project now, it's urgent." 

Chanyeol immediately went to Baekhyun's workstation and just like that he's back to work and forgot about the case. 

 

\---

 

Shift's over and Chanyeol was the last person to leave the office. He didn't want to leave the office until he finished this work Baekhyun said was urgent. It was already 5PM, Baekhyun left 30 minutes before him. He packed his things as soon as his e-mail was sent to Heechul and Baekhyun. While he was on his way down the building, his mind was still preoccupied with the task he just completed - thinking whether it could have been done a lot better if they were given more time. He reached the ground floor, walked out of the elevator and headed straight to the exit of the building. As soon as he stepped out, someone called him out which startled him.

"Park Chanyeol!"

He slowly looked behind him and was confused when he saw Kyungsoo.

"We're you waiting for me?" Chanyeol asked pointing to himself.

"Obviously?" Kyungsoo responded with his poker face.

"W-why?" Chanyeol stuttered because he was overthinking again at that very moment.  _He's making me nervous._

Kyungsoo looked everywhere first, as if checking something, before grabbing Chanyeol's wrist and dragging him to a cafe Chanyeol have never been to.

\---

Chanyeol sat down upon Kyungsoo's instruction. The other sat across him. A round table was between them. 

"Where are we? I- .. I mean of course this is a cafe." Chanyeol face-palmed and rephrased his question. "Why are we here?"

Before Kyungsoo answered, he took our something from his bag and put it on the table. 

_That looks familiar._ Chanyeol thought.

"Can't you recognize your own notebook?" Kyungsoo frowned.

It only took a few seconds before Chanyeol's eyes grew bigger and his mouth opened. He recalled leaving this small notebook on his desk when Baekhyun rushed him to go to his desk, and he immediately regretted his clumsiness.

"So.. tell me about this Luhan x Junmyeon you wrote there." Kyungsoo leaned his back on his chair's backrest and crossed his arms waiting for Chanyeol to respond.

Chanyeol wasn't sure what to say first. Shouldn't he be mad about Kyungsoo checking on things that aren't his? 

Kyungsoo waited for him to answer and there was silence.

"I'm sorry I took your stuff." Kyungsoo talked again.

"Uh.."  _Why am I feeling guilty about this? He's the one who took my notebook!_ Chanyeol was speechless.

"It's okay if you won't tell me. It's just that I saw your notebook lying open on your desk and I accidentally read that part. I thought you'd tell me." Kyungsoo's face was sad. Chanyeol could tell he's upset about that note. "I don't know why people tend to lie to me or hide things from me." He continued.

Chanyeol could feel so much weight from what Kyungsoo said.

"I wasn't hiding it, I was just waiting for the right time and I haven't proven  _that_ yet anyway." Chanyeol explained. He watched the smaller guy uncross his arms, brush his hair with his hand then wiped his face with it as if wiping out the disappointment, or was it sadness, on his face.

"Junmyeon..." Kyungsoo sighed. "I can't believe they really did cheat on me." He bit his lower lip trying to suppress his anger.

"Look, I haven't proven that yet. That was just a hunch based on my conversation with Irene so..."

"I saw them that day... But I refused to believe it was Luhan I saw with Junmyeon." Kyungsoo recalled just a few days after their celebration, they had to do an overtime job for a client. They were busy and all but he wanted to talk to Luhan for a bit but he wasn't in the office. He also noticed Junmyeon wasn't there. He searched for him in all parts of the building where they usually spend time to talk secretly, or kiss or touch each other. He wasn't in the building so he went outside, to the smoking area, to a nearby cafe and finally to a dark street where they do crazy daring stuff together. And just when he's about to reach the spot, he heard familiar noises - hot moans, that sound of pleasure. He was scared of what he's about to see but quietly peeked anyway. He recognized Junmyeon and he was so surprised to see someone kneeling in front of him, doing his dirty business. Junmyeon grabbed the man's hair and cried out Luhan's name. This caused Kyungsoo to step back and run away and head back to their office.

Chanyeol noticed that tears were about to fall from Kyungsoo's eyes. No, Chanyeol can't take that. He's not used to seeing his mentor this emotional and weak. He immediately stood up and asked for water from the cafe counter.

Kyungsoo snapped back to reality when he saw a cup of water placed in front of him. Chanyeol sat back to his seat smiling gently.

"Thanks." Kyungsoo took the cup and slowly drank the water. Chanyeol noted how fragile Kyungsoo looked at that moment. Both of his small hands holding the cup were slightly trembling.

"Do you want to eat anything. I'll buy you dinner." Chanyeol offered.

"No, I'm fine. Besides..." Kyungsoo paused before he decided to talk again. "Luhan's waiting for me at home. We'll have dinner together."

That was the second time Chanyeol went speechless that day.  _They live together???_

"You're too obvious, Chanyeol. Can't we live together?" Kyungsoo was too amused at Chanyeol's reaction such that he laughed a bit. "We're still boyfriends, we can live together if we want to."

"Even after you knew he cheated on you?" Chanyeol frowned.

"It wasn't confirmed it was him." Kyungsoo's laugh was fading.

"Even when there were rumors about it spreading in your team?" He frowned even more and the tone of his voice changed.

"Yes, but those were just rumors. I love Luhan and I trust him." Kyungsoo said firmly, smile completely erased off his face. "Seems like I won't get anything from you aside from your judging look. I'll go ahead." Kyungsoo grabbed his bag and left Chanyeol frustrated.

_This is actually pissing me off._ Chanyeol grunted without realizing why.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Work is real. T_T Finally updated this fic after two months. Will add more chapters soon! <3 Thanks for reading!


	8. Behind the Curtain, Over the Phone

Chanyeol was pissed but he didn't want to end the night with a fight with Kyungsoo so he immediately took his bag and quickly apologized to the person behind the counter for staying in their cafe without buying anything. As he went out of the cafe, Kyungsoo was already a few meters away from him and just when he's about to call him, he suddenly thought of secretly following him to his home. As to why, he didn't know yet. Something's telling him he needed to know more of his mentor this way because he's not the type to tell about his life to anybody anyway. So Chanyeol quietly followed Kyungsoo. He wore his black jacket and baseball cap he randomly brought that day. He went to the same bus Kyungsoo rode on and successfully sat on a chair a few rows behind him. Chanyeol noted how distracted Kyungsoo was, or rather drowned in his thoughts, such that he wasn't able to notice Chanyeol at all. The smaller guy slipped earphones into his ears and Chanyeol was even more grateful. After three bus stops, Kyungsoo went off first followed by two strangers then Chanyeol followed. He pretended to go to the opposite way where Kyungsoo headed and then went back to following him.

They entered a quiet village with average-looking houses. There were low-rise apartment buildings. They walked up a sloped street until Kyungsoo stopped in front of an old apartment building. It was already around 7PM and the whole building was still well lit by the apartment lights except for one unit. Chanyeol guessed that's where Kyungsoo lives but immediately doubted it when he remembered Kyungsoo lives with Luhan. Across that building was an empty dark lot and it was the perfect spot for Chanyeol to stay. He hid himself behind a post in that lot and waited for something to happen. 

That unit which was in total darkness a few minutes ago was now well lit. Chanyeol squinted to see if it's Kyungsoo standing by the window. Seems like the universe wanted to let Chanyeol know that it was indeed Kyungsoo in that unit when he went closer to the window to spread the white curtains covering its whole length. When he realized he won't see anything behind those curtains anymore but Kyungsoo's silhouette, he decided to stop the stalking and go home. But the moment he stepped away from the post he was hiding in, he noticed another silhouette behind the curtains in the same unit where Kyungsoo was. The man engulfed Kyungsoo into a tight hug, Chanyeol assumed as their silhouette became one. However, the hug was too quick as it seemed like Kyungsoo pushed the man away. Chanyeol's heart beat a little faster this time. There was no movement so he assumed both men were only talking. Chanyeol was glad but it was too early for him to conclude that the men in that unit we're not going to fight. Kyungsoo moved closer to the man and Chanyeol was sure Kyungsoo slapped the man's face. Kyungsoo continued to push him on his shoulders and the man just made a few steps back. Chanyeol wished he could hear their conversation so he'd know if Kyungsoo was angry, scowling, growling or if he's crying. The pushing stopped when the man caught Kyungsoo's hands. Chanyeol's eyes grew bigger and he moved one step forward as if ready to run to the building when the man aggressively pushed Kyungsoo away. It was strong as it seemed like Kyungsoo was about to fall but regained his balance. The man went closer to him and was pointing at him as if accusing him for something. And when he got closer, he slapped Kyungsoo left and right and even grabbed his hair. It was just a silhouette but Chanyeol was sure Kyungsoo was pleading for the man to stop when he raised his two hands right in front of the man's chest.  _Shit. I can't just watch this._ _Should I call the police? Ah shit! They won't be here in an instant._ Chanyeol grabbed his phone and instead of dialing the police' number, he searched for Kyungsoo's name on his phonebook. When the other line rang, the pushing and slapping stopped and Kyungsoo's hair was released from the man's grasp. The man did not move but Kyungsoo rattled to go to where he left his phone.

" _Hello?_ " Kyungsoo answered and Chanyeol was surprised with how normal Kyungsoo's voice was, as if nothing happened just now. He expected a shaky voice but it was plain normal.

"Uh... I- .. I just called to say sorry for what happened earlier." Chanyeol answered while staring at the window. Kyungsoo's back was facing the other man but he's walking nearer the smaller guy. 

" _Ok. Is that all?_ " Kyungsoo was already facing the other man and it was as if he was being monitored by the other.

"Uhh... Are you having dinner with Luhan already?" This time, Chanyeol noticed Kyungsoo put his phone away from his ear but the line wasn't cut yet.

" _Yes, we are. I hope you don't mind if I drop now._ " Kyungsoo's phone was on loud speaker. The man was indeed monitoring him.

"I'm sorry for disturbing you. Ha-have fun, enjoy your dinner." That didn't help Chanyeol to stop worrying because he wanted to say take care of yourself and don't get hurt but that just won't make sense because they're only having "dinner".

" _Yes._ "

"Don't eat too much, you might end up sick and I won't see you tomorrow if that happens." Chanyeol didn't want to hang up.

" _Yes, I won't._ "

"See you tomorrow!" Chanyeol hoped Kyungsoo would say yes but there was no response. There was only a hum on the other line.

"Good ni-..." The call was dropped and Chanyeol hissed.  _Shit._ Despite that, Chanyeol kind of made the right decision to call him as the fight seemed to have ended after a few minutes of just plain conversation, no movement, and the man hugged Kyungsoo again. They walked far from the window, the lights turned off and Chanyeol couldn't figure out what was happening anymore. He hesitantly left the area after 15 minutes of staring at the dark unit. He set an alarm on his phone to call Kyungsoo in the morning to check if he's alive.

 

\---

The next morning, Chanyeol woke up ahead of his alarm and he was already holding his phone. He waited for his alarm to go off as if that's the right time to call Kyungsoo. When his phone rang, he immediately stopped the alarm, went to his call history and called him.

It took three rings before Chanyeol heard an answer on the other line, " _Hello?_ "

"Do Kyungsoo!"

" _Park Chanyeol."_ And that confirmed Kyungsoo's still alive. Chanyeol finally breathed in relief.

"Hey good morning! See you in the office?" Chanyeol smacked his forehead when he realized that that shouldn't have been what he said first. They aren't that close to have very casual greetings like that in the morning. He could have asked if he's going to work early today or just apologized for calling so early in the morning to ask about something work-related - just anything to cover up his suspicious random call.

" _Glad you called. Please tell the team I won't be able to go to work today. I'm not feeling well_." 

"What???" Chanyeol's voice was a bit louder, he too was surprised. "Oh sorry, I didn't mean to shout at you." 

" _Just tell them that please. I think I have an upset stomach._ "

"Are you okay? Didn't I tell you to not eat too much last night?"

" _Just do me a favor, okay?_ "

"Is that all? Just an upset stomach?" Chanyeol wanted to ask if he's injured and how bad is it.

" _Yes._ "

"Are you sure?"

" _Yes._ "

"I can bring you some medicines if you want." Chanyeol didn't care if Kyungsoo would find him weird, he wanted to have an excuse to see him already.

" _You don't know where I live and I'm not planning to tell you. Look, Chanyeol, I need to take a rest now."_ Chanyeol could hear Kyungsoo sounded tired.

"Alright. See you tomorrow then. Promise?"

"...... _Of course."_ Chanyeol noticed the hesitation and uncertainty in Kyungsoo's response. As soon as Kyungsoo dropped the call, Chanyeol set back his alarm on for the next day to call Kyungsoo again and remind him of a promise he believed Kyungsoo made.


	9. The Second Suspect

“Hey guys, do you think we should go visit Kyungsoo already? This is his third day out of office.” Chanyeol suggested out of the blue when all his teammates were so quiet and focused on their own job.

“That would be great but none of us knows where he lives…” Irene answered after pausing a bit from tapping on her keyboard.

“No one? Not even Heechul?” Chanyeol was skeptic.

“Maybe he knows but Kyungsoo really likes his privacy so we do not bother to ask him about it.” Irene shrugged her shoulders and went back to her work. Chanyeol looked at each member in that cube and he was a bit pissed that no one seemed to care for Kyungsoo. Then he noticed Jongin was thinning his lips as if stopping himself from saying something, his eyes looking anywhere but his laptop and Chanyeol.

“Are you okay, Jongin?” Chanyeol stretched his neck to check on Jongin. “Something’s bothering you?”

“Awww, our Jongin here is worried sick for Kyungsoo, too. Admit it Jongin…” Baekhyun wooed Jongin as he rubbed his shoulder. Jongin brushed his hand off and frowned at his laptop.

“We could go together if you want…” Chanyeol proposed.

“I don’t know where he lives!” Jongin said with a frustrated tone as he pushed his laptop away and cupped his face with his two hands, elbows on his desk to support the weight of his throbbing head. He was worried apparently. Yesterday, Chanyeol saw him checking his phone and contemplating for minutes whether to call someone or not and Chanyeol assumed it was Kyungsoo he was thinking about calling. He also noticed him spacing out during lunch, frowning and biting his lower lip. On Kyungsoo’s first day out of office, Jongin was quick to volunteer on doing Kyungsoo’s tasks despite how loaded he was and just reasoned out that Kyungsoo had asked him before to help him on that task so he’s already familiar with it. He ended up extending for three more hours in the office per his status report yesterday and had made a significant progress so Kyungsoo need not worry so much. Today, he sighed when Heechul announced that Kyungsoo will be off again and Chanyeol’s sure it’s not because of Kyungsoo’s pending tasks. Jongin has completed all of those yesterday and he bets Jongin was excited for Kyungsoo to know about it.

Chanyeol is just as worried as Jongin plus he was fighting this urge to just spill the fact that he actually knew where Kyungsoo lives. But that will only reveal he stalked him one night and might end up telling them what he saw. He thought of Kyungsoo’s reaction first when he learns about him telling stories to the team without his consent. Kyungsoo not answering his calls yesterday and this morning only meant “stay away” and Chanyeol respected that. But still, he’s worried. He remembered that it’s already Friday and he thought of going to Kyungsoo’s apartment on his own in the evening.

\---

It’s 5PM and Chanyeol immediately packed up his things so he could go home.

“Something going on at home?” Irene asked him who was just as busy packing up her stuff, just way slower taking her time.

“Uh- y-yeah. My Mom asked me to come home as fast as I could.” Chanyeol lied.

“Ok then. Take care!” Irene sent him off with a wave of her hand and Chanyeol went dashing towards the exit doors and down outside the building. He immediately hailed a cab and went home.

\---

At his house, Sehun was already waiting for him with his car this time.

“Yeol! Tell me where we’re going! You can’t just ask me to drive you somewhere without telling me the important details, you know?” Chanyeol’s bestfriend greeted him who was standing beside his car and patiently waiting for him. “Also, you’re making it sound like an emergency, you made me worry!”

“Sorry, Sehunnie… I had to finish my job in the office so I could go home early so I didn’t really have time to explain things to you yet. I’ll tell you on our way, okay?” Chanyeol went inside his house, greeted her Mom and confirmed that his Dad isn’t home yet so there was no car to borrow, he changed his clothes, and went out again. When his Mom asked where he’s going that night, Chanyeol only said, “I’m gonna stroll around the city with Sehun, Mom. TGIF!” and beamed at her with all his teeth showing. Chanyeol’s lucky he didn’t really have strict parents.

“Hey, did you bring your hoodie and your cap?” Chanyeol asked Sehun as he opened the car door of the front seat.

“Are we going to stalk someone?” Sehun asked and he started the engine.

“Oh.. I’m just going to check if he’s fine.” Chanyeol answered while wearing the seatbelt around him.

“Who?”

“My mentor.”

“Why? What happened?”

Chanyeol hesitated for a few seconds but he ended up telling Sehun what happened that night he decided to stalk Kyungsoo. Besides, he’s his best friend and confidante. And he’s driving him to Kyungsoo’s apartment.

\---

“Are you sure we’re at the right place?” Sehun asked, his chin resting on his hands clasped together on the steering wheel. He was staring at the gate of Kyungsoo’s apartment.

“Yes of course!” Chanyeol answered with head bent while browsing through his phone for a fruit or flower delivery service.

“And you haven’t ordered flowers yet, right?” Sehun asked lifting his face a bit to see more of the view his cap is almost blocking.

“Yeah, can’t you see, I’m still checking for the nearest ones. You’re being impatient, Hunnie. Do you want to go home already?”

“No.” Sehun’s brief answer was followed by a hum as if Sehun was contemplating on telling Chanyeol what he’s seeing.

“Aha! I found one! Now let me order some flowers…” Chanyeol was tapping on his phone when he realized something and peeked sideways to Sehun. “Or should I just buy fruits instead? I’d look like I’m courting him if I give him flowers…” And then he looked back to his phone, missing what Sehun is currently staring at. “But I guess flowers will be good, too… It’s just a friendly gesture…” He tried to convince himself.

“I think you don’t need to bring him flowers anymore.” Sehun looked at Chanyeol.

“Why?” Chanyeol faced Sehun with a confused look and turned to look at the gate by Kyungsoo’s apartment when Sehun told him to. Chanyeol frowned at the sight. There’s a man by the gate who looks very familiar to him and he’s holding flowers and a fruit basket. But he’s not holding the basket of fruits anymore, Kyungsoo’s already carrying it.

“I swear that’s Kim Jongin.”

“Kim who?”

“Jongin. He’s one of my teammates.”

“I see, so we have another concerned teammate here. You shouldn’t have worried about Kyungsoo anymore.”

“He said he doesn’t know where he lives. Damn it. He lied to me.” Chanyeol was gripping his phone tighter now and Sehun could see the crease on his forehead.

“Chill man. He could have just found out about it you know. Maybe he didn’t really know and just called Kyungsoo and this small guy decided to answer his call and not yours.”

“You really had to say that?”

“Haha! Sorry man. Seems like you didn’t have to check Kyungsoo everyday in the first place. I bet they’ve been on the phone for days. Look at how this Jongin guy is caressing Kyungsoo’s face right now…”

“Aiisshhh..” Chanyeol was about to open the door when Sehun stopped him.

“Yeol! Where do you think you’re going? To them?”

“Look, I need to know if Kyungsoo’s really fine, okay?”

“He looks fine to me. Come on, stay here. If he sees you, he’d find out you’re stalking him and what will you tell him when he asks you why, huh?”

_That’s right. Sehun has a point._ Chanyeol thought. If there’s a person he should be stalking right now, it should be Junmyeon because he’s the only suspect he has. After a few minutes of suppressing his frustration and disappointment at Jongin, a thought dawned to him and it’s telling him to check on Kim Jongin, too.


End file.
